Chapter 40: The Moon Trials Begin
The night air in Aeloria was heavy with the anticipation of old magic. The moon hung swollen and silver, veiled by drifting clouds that glowed like molten silk as they slid across its face. All across the Vale, the wolves gathered in hushed lines beneath the great stone circle known as the Moonspire Grounds—a place older than memory, where granite spires clawed toward the heavens like the bones of a long-dead titan.
Seren stood at the heart of the circle, her pulse thrumming in her ears as if her body itself wanted to drown out the silence. Every eye was on her—wolves in their furred forms crouched low, warriors in human shape ringed around the stones, elders looming like carved statues of judgment. She felt the weight of their suspicion, their anger, th
